L-Commerce

With more and more wireless handheld devices like PDA’s, Cellular phone and pocket PC’s there are  

significant opportunities for the growth of M-commerce. 

Although mobile commerce enables access to goods and services regardless of the location of buyer or 

seller, in many situations the specific location of the buyer and seller is important to the transaction.

Today various location-specific applications and services are emerging.

These applications track the user’s location in order to deliver a service or product.

The use of technologies which provide the location information for business purposes is known as L-

commerce.

The technology uses the geographical location of the mobile device to determine which applications are 

appropriate based on that area.

It enables users to log their locations, track the location of another person, and find places such as a 

bank or restaurant.

The technology works by using signals from GPS, cellular and Wi-Fi sources.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is most accurate in determining a mobile device’s position.

It is based on a worldwide satellite tracking system where the GPS signals are generated by a group of 

satellite that orbits around the Earth.

To locate a point, a mobile device will utilize three satellites to create an intersecting point that locates 

the device within 500 meters.

This is known as triangulation. If the GPS signal is poor, weak or blocked, the mobile device can use 

the signals from cell towers and Wi-Fi hot spots.

These signals do not broadcast their own locations but Smartphone companies use databases that store 

the locations of these sources.

Another example of location based services is where one can use maps to find the path to the 

destination.

For example, the user wants to reach a particular destination whose path is not known.

Location based services offers convenience and opportunity to provide services that are more quick or 

precise and can meet a customer’s needs. 

Some examples of location-based applications are:

 1. Information or directory services: dynamic yellow pages automatically inform the users about the nearest restaurants, parking facility, traffic updates. 

2. Tracking services: tracking of assets, locating friends in a geographical location, tracking stolen 

     cars, tracking of children by parents.

3. Emergency services: emergency medical ambulance, search and rescue mission, roadside assistance, 

     police and fire response.

4. Advertising promotion: targeted ads, promotional messages, customer identification in a store.

5. Mapping: Creating maps of specific geographical location.

6. Navigation: plotting route from one place to another.